An Hour With Jean-Claude Biver Of Hublot On Watches, Business, And Being A Hippie

Jean-Claude Biver is a living legend in the watch industry. If you are someone in the industry you either admire him, are jealous of him, or perhaps dislike him. Nevertheless you know him and know he is important. One thing most people can say about Biver is that he speaks loudly, passionately, and often exaggerates a bit (though I don't think he believes that). At least when he is talking about one of his brands - which has been Hublot for the last decade or so.

So here is a rare opportunity to hear Jean-Claude Biver speak with an uncommon personal tone and honesty. He talks about his youth, his hippie years (yes!), starting in the watch industry under some crazy people and doing things he didn't want to do, and how he used his own passion and ideas to create a lot of new things. In a sense, the over-an-hour-long talk is a dissertation on his life in the watch industry, how he thinks, and what you can learn from him. It is easy to listen to and really interesting.

While the presentation is long, I recommend you listen to it in the background of whatever else you are doing. This is a gem for not only understanding Biver, but for understanding the mentality of the Swiss watch industry and why he is considered so important. It is also a good lesson for any business person. People in Europe study this guy by the way. Currently Jean-Claude Biver is the Chairman of Hublot, and while he has adopted a Swiss passport, he is originally from Luxembourg. I've had the great joy of spending a lot of time with him, and look forward to each time I see Jean-Claude.

Watch Brands

Fueled by an unshakable love for horology and a general curiosity for intricate things, Ariel Adams founded aBlogtoWatch in 2007 as a means of sharing his passion. Since then, ABTW has become the highest trafficked blog on luxury timepieces, and Ariel has become a contributor to other online publications such as Forbes, Departures and Tech Crunch, to name just a few. His conversational writing style and inclusive attitude brings a wider appreciation for watches the world over, and that's just the way he likes it.
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Well I know how I plan to spend an hour of my evening tonight (with a glass or two of wine). It’s hard not to start the video here at work, but I’d rather not just catch bits and pieces while working.

flukesh

Oh my God, Ariel. Thank you so much for sharing this.

MarkCarson

Wow, what little I thought I knew about Mr. Biver has changed dramatically with this extended video. So much to admire about him. Not his accomplishments, but his approach to everything which has translated to success for him.
What a fun guy.

But there was no mention of making cheese from human milk.

Ulysses31

The first half was interesting, the second half very telling. I liked his message about love and being passionate. What put me off was how he seemingly had no scruples when in the pursuit of profit. Talking about beauty and lovingly handmade watches seemed to go out the window when he kept on telling everyone just how rapidly he’d generated huge sums of money. It seemed as though he was saying “I’ll sell my watches to anyone, even people I completely despise! Nothing should get in the way of making a buck!” Pretty much how I imagined someone responsible for a variety of Hublot-designed monstrosities would be like. I’ll let his slight chauvenism slide since he is old. Funny guy though, at least he was somewhat entertaining… should see a doctor about the wheezing though.

Waltermaximus

It was an excellent speech, going from personal to business and marketing, it was a great insight i really admire that guy, althou he did burned the spanish distribuitor.